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PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
SAMSUNG
DVD-N505, £229
Samsung is really getting into its stride now and lately it has turned
out a succession of bold and innovative players. The DVD-N505 is pitched at the
top end of the budget market, combining bold cosmetics with a long list of
secondary features. Working on the premise that if you throw enough mud at a
wall some will stick, some of the extra are a bit of a waste of time, but a
couple of them hit the mark, like VLM or virtual light machine, which is a sort
of special effects generator that makes fancy patterns on the screen when
you’re listening to audio CDs or MP3 tracks. In contrast NUON, (we’re not sure
if it stands for anything…) is supposed to perk up the interactive features on
specially ‘enhanced’ discs. Since there’s only three of them at the moment, and
the company behind NUON has been in financial difficulties, it’s probably not
something we need to worry too much about.
Features that deserve a mention include the bold cosmetics and handy
jog/shuttle dials on the front panel and remote handset, which makes the wide
range of trick play functions a pleasure to use (3 slomo and 6 search speeds,
up to 128x). It has an elaborate variable picture zoom/macro, which shrinks the
picture to half normal size and zooms to 15x. There’s also a scene digest
function, picture strobe, 3D sound, MP3 replay, a 3-scene bookmark, the remote
can control the main functions on 20 or more brands of TV and the region lock
is hackable. (With disc tray empty press 38767, display shows R2, enter new
region number or 9 for all regions).
Picture quality is outstanding with bold bright colours that retain all
of their vibrancy, even in gloomy shots like interiors in Se7en and the
‘Can-Can’ in Moulin Rouge where it faithfully captures all of the rich details
and background texture. It’s equally at home with well-lit material and it
handles rapid action scenes, explosions and sudden changes in brightness
without a murmur. Audio quality is good too with lower than average levels of
background noise on the analogue stereo channels and a crisp, clean digital
output.
Not everyone is going to like the angular cosmetics but it’s what’s
inside the box that counts and aside from a couple of dubious gadgets
everything else, including the top-notch AV performance, is definitely worth
having.
Contact: Samsung 0800 521652, www.samsungelectronics.co.uk/
SPECS
Video output composite/S-Video/RGB
SCARTs 1
Audio output analogue mixed
stereo/coaxial/optical/headphones
5.1 decoders n/a
EXTRA FEATURES
Multi-speed trick play, PAL/NTSC replay, MP3 replay, 3D sound, picture
zoom & macro, scene digest, 3-scene bookmark, VLM graphic display, ‘NUON’
compatible, strobe, screen fit, multi-brand TV remote
FOR
Dramatic looks, excellent AV, plenty of toys and easily hackable region
lock
AGAINST
Cosmetics not to everyone’s taste and a tad pricey
IS IT WORTH IT?
Definitely worth paying a bit extra for top grade picture and sound
RATING
5/5
ALBA DVD-513 £140
DVD players with all-region replay -- straight out of the box -- remove
all of the fuss and bother over hacking or chipping, so from that perspective
the Alba DVD-513 is certainly worth a look. Mind you, there’s not a lot else to
get excited about, it is a very basic design, even by current standards. The
only remotely unusual feature – and we’re barrel-scraping here – is the
forward-only slomo with has no less than 11 speeds…
The big remote handset’s not bad and picture quality is quite good for
a budget model, revealing lots of detail in shadows and under-lit scenes, like
the Absinthe fairy sequence in Moulin Rouge. Sound effects on the analogue
stereo and digital outputs are lively and well focused and it makes a fair
attempt at playing audio CDs as well, in the same league as the better budget
hi-fi equipment systems.
Whilst there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with it the DVD-513 it
doesn’t exactly set the pulse racing but if all you want is a basic player with
decent AV performance it might be worth considering.
Contact: Alba 020 8787 3111
SPECS
Video output composite/S-Video/RGB
SCARTs 1
Audio output analogue mixed
stereo/coaxial/optical
5.1 decoders n/a
EXTRA FEATURES
Multi-speed trick play, PAL/NTSC replay, picture zoom, SCART cable
included
FOR
Good picture and sound quality, effortless all region playback
AGAINST
Fairly basic and it’ll win no beauty contests
IS IT WORTH IT?
A rather lightweight design, the even cheaper Alba DVD-113 might be a
better bet…
RATING
3/5
GOODMANS GDVD131 £150
First impressions count but don’t let that put you off the GDVD-131,
which has an extremely irritating illuminated Goodmans logo set into a display
panel on the left side of the machine. Fortunately the small cute and very
curvy cabinet helps to distract attention from the light-up logo, that and the
very fair price.
For your one hundred and fifty smackeroons you get a player with
built-in Dolby Digital decoder, MP3 replay, a 2-step picture zoom, volume and
mute controls on the remote, it comes with a SCART cable and the region lock is
very easily hacked. For the record all you have to do is put the player in Stop
mode, press Setup then Vol+, Vol-, Vol+, Vol- and ‘Ver2’ appears on the screen,
user the cursor keys to switch regions Ver 1 to 6 or Ver 255 for all regions)
and press Setup twice to exit.
Picture quality is fine, no real problems though subtle shades and skin
tones can sometimes look a little on the thick and heavy side and Region 1
playback can be a bit jerky on some titles. The audio outputs are all as clean
as a whistle and overall it performs well. Worth thinking about.
Contact: Goodmans 023 9239 1100
SPECS
Video output composite/S-Video/RGB
SCARTs 1
Audio output analogue mixed stereo/coaxial/headphones
5.1 decoders Dolby Digital
EXTRA FEATURES
Multi-speed trick play, PAL/NTSC replay, Dolby Digital decoder MP3
replay, picture zoom, volume control, SCART cable included
FOR
Curvy compact shape, decent AV quality
AGAINST
That annoying illuminated logo
IS IT WORTH IT?
Yes, particularly if you can make use of the Dolby Digital decoder
RATING
4/5
HAUS H-615L, £129
You usually get a fair idea of the price of a DVD player just by
looking at it and the Haus H-615 could easily pass for a classy up market
player but it only costs £130. Nevertheless, the spec is far from basic with
built-in Dolby Digial and dts decoders, it also has a 5-scene bookmark, it will
play MP3 recordings, there’s a picture zoom, volume and mute on the remote and
the region lock is easily disabled. (Press Stop twice then enter 2317 and the
region number – 1 to 6 or 0 for all regions. Switch off, count five, switch on
and it’s done).
The casework is sleek, even the remote handset looks the part with its
large glow in the dark buttons. Sadly picture quality is rather average. In
dark scenes and shadows it struggles to bring out fine detail and colours look
muted and flat. Otherwise it’s fine and the picture comes alive in brighter
scenes. Dolby Digital soundtracks and effects are lively and well focused but
the analogue stereo channels can be a little noisy.
A very sleek design, some useful features and good value but AV
performance is borderline ordinary.
Contact: www.jungle.com
SPECS
Video output composite/S-Video/RGB
SCARTs 1
Audio output analogue mixed stereo/coaxial/
5.1 decoders Dolby Digital/dts
EXTRA FEATURES
Multi-speed trick play, PAL/NTSC replay, Dolby Digital & dts
decoders, 5-scene bookmark, MP3 replay, picture zoom, volume control
FOR
Smart good looks, easy to use remote, very fair value
AGAINST
Lacklustre AV performance
IS IT WORTH IT?
Maybe, it certainly looks like it should cost a lot more
RATING
4/5
TRUVOX DVD-600, £100
The Truvox brand is a real blast from the past though it’s unlikely
many people under 40 will remember it so the DVD-600 needs to trade on more
than just nostalgia. The price should attract your attention though, and
features like multi-speed replay, picture zoom, 3D sound, a volume control on
the remote and hackable region lock are not to be sniffed at. (Press
Open/Close, enter 8421 and use Enter to step through region 1 to 6 and All for
all-region, press Open/Close to store).
Component video outputs are quite unusual on a budget player and replay
of Region1/NTSC material– which is what they’re meant for – is a bit jerky.
Region 2 material fares a lot better and it even does quite a good job of
extracting detail from murky scenes and shadows. Colours are crisp and lifelike
and it’s unfazed by rapid changes in brightness or fast movement. Noise levels
on the analogue soundtracks are well down and the digital output is in near
pristine condition.
Decent AV performance for £100, you can’t argue with that, throw in
some useful extras and you’ve got yourself a very attractive looking deal!
Contact: Debenhams Stores, 0845 6005003
SPECS
Video output composite/S-Video/RGB/Component
SCARTs 1
Audio output analogue mixed
stereo/coaxial/optical
5.1 decoders n/a
EXTRA FEATURES
Multi-speed trick play, PAL/NTSC replay, picture zoom, volume control,
SCART cable included
FOR
Above average picture and sound, great value
AGAINST
Jerky NTSC replay and awkward remote handset
IS IT WORTH IT?
At that price you can hardly go wrong!
RATING
4/5
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Ó R. Maybury 2002,
2203
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